Ardeidae Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Lithe wetland predators, herons are adapted to throwing their dagger-like skull at prey with lightning quickness and fatal accuracy. Whether standing and with great patience (even under shade that they produce with an umbrella made by their wings), or stirring up the bottom to see what they can dislodge (or attract) with their toes, these birds mix stillness with quick and decisive action. The same sharp bill that makes these birds such effective predators makes them dangerous in the hand: if you get this close, wear safety glasses. Still, they must resort to sheltered or remote nest sites to find safety from mammalian predators, and it is a strange sight indeed to see a tall heron perched on a tree-top limb, attending its large stick nest.